Recognition of veterinary qualifications (degrees obtained outside the EU/EEA area)

A veterinary surgeon’s licence is applied for with a free-form application. The application must state at least the name, contact details and home municipality of the applicant, and the topic of the application. Required attachments:

• Officially certified copy of passport or other document indicating the applicant’s nationality

• Officially certified copy of the degree in veterinary medicine and related attachments, indicating the content and scope of the obtained degree (diploma supplement, transcript of records)

• If the applicant’s current name differs from the name in the documents, they must also provide the original document or a certified copy indicating the change of name.

• Certificate of the veterinary surgeon's licence issued by a competent authority in the country where the degree was received, proving that the applicant has an unlimited right to practice veterinary medicine. The certificate must not be older than three months. Applicants may submit either the original certificate or an officially certified copy.

• Original certificate of language skills or a certified copy. To demonstrate sufficient language skills, the applicant shall submit a certificate of at least level 4 in Finnish language in the three test components of the National Certificate of Language Proficiency. If the test was taken before 2002, general skills level 5 is required. A Finnish or Swedish-language degree is also accepted.

• If the applicant is an EU/EEA citizen with a degree from in a third country and the degree has already been recognised in some other EU/EEA country where the applicant has gained three years of work experience, the applicant may be admitted to the general system for recognition of qualifications. The applicant shall provide the Finnish Food Authority with a certificate of their work experience, the decision issued by the other EU/EEA country to recognise their degree, and a certificate from a competent authority in said country verifying that the applicant has three years of work experience in that country. For more information, please contact the Finnish Food Authority.

An officially certified copy means a copy authenticated by a notary public. A so-called Apostille certificate is also accepted.

For attachments not written in one of the Nordic languages or English, an authorised translation into Finnish, Swedish or English shall also be submitted. An authorised translation means a translation made by an authorised translator.

To obtain the licence, the applicant must have graduated as a veterinary surgeon in a country outside the EU/EEA area and they must be licensed to practice as a veterinary surgeon in the country in question. The applicant must have sufficient Finnish language skills to start the additional studies required to get their degree recognised. The applicant can get their degree recognised and have the right to practice veterinary medicine in Finland only when they have acquired sufficient language skills and completed the additional studies.

Submit your application and the attachments specified below to the Finnish Food Authority to start the additional studies and get your licence.

Without sufficient language skills and completed additional studies, veterinary surgeons who have gained their degree outside the EU/EEA area may be granted a temporary right to perform teaching and research tasks at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Helsinki. The temporary right can be granted for five years at a time. For more information, contact the Finnish Food Authority.